Berkeley man sentenced after 4-year-old son’s methadone death

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Laron Crawford

Berkeley man sentenced after 4-year-old son’s methadone death

Laron Crawford

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) – A suburban St. Louis man whose 4-year-old son died after drinking the father’s methadone has been ordered to spend 15 years in prison.

Thirty-seven-year-old Laron Crawford of Berkeley was sentenced Friday in St. Louis County. That’s where he pleaded guilty in February to charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child endangerment.

Authorities have said Jaron Crawford found his father’s methadone bottle in the refrigerator in January of last year and fatally drank it.

Methadone is an opioid medication is used to reduce withdrawal symptoms in people addicted to heroin. Investigators say Crawford told them he was a heroin addict.